Justice Department reverses Obama-era decision on private prisons

The Justice Department has rescinded a memo issued under the Obama administration that sought to phase out the federal government’s use of private prison facilities.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in a memo dated Tuesday, rolled back the 2016 order which sought to reduce the Bureau of Prisons’ contracts with private prison facilities and to eventually phase out use of private contractors.

“The memorandum changed long-standing policy and practice, and impaired  the Bureau’s ability to meet the future needs of the federal correctional system,” Mr. Sessions wrote. “Therefore, I direct the Bureau to  return to its previous approach.”

Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates had announced the change in DOJ policy in August, instructing the head of the Bureau of Prisons to either decline to renew or to reduce the scope of contracts with private prison companies when contracts come due. The change was set to affect a relatively small number of prisoners.

At the time the change was announced, only about 22,660 federal inmates, of the more than 2.2 million people incarcerated in the United States, were held in facilities where the Bureau of Prisons has contracted with private companies. The number of federal inmates has already shrunk since then, with DOJ officials noting there are currently 21,000 inmates housed in 12 private prison facilities.

At its peak in 2013, about 15 percent of federal inmates, or 30,000 people, were housed in facilities run by private companies. The Bureau of Prisons spent $639 million in fiscal 2014 to run 14 contract prisons.